You soon may have to say goodbye to your favorite microwave popcorn, frozen cookie dough and coffee creamer — at least in their current forms.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it plans to remove trans fats from the category of “generally considered as safe” substances, which effectively would ban them from being used in processed foods. Trans fats, which are liquid oils converted into solid fats, have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

“Trans fats are good for my business, but they aren't good for you,” said Dr. Robert Chilton, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center who performs cardiovascular research. “Trans fat raises your cholesterol. Your good HDL cholesterol goes down, your bad LDL cholesterol goes up. Trans fatty acids are not your friends.”

Consuming even small amounts of trans fats can have a big impact on your health, said registered dietitian nutritionist Linda Farr, who supports the FDA's move.

Under current regulations, companies can label products as having “0 grams of trans fat” if they contain less than half a gram per serving. That's a problem, Farr said, because small amounts can add up fast.

“If they can put the pressure on the manufacturers to take this out of our food supply, there's going to be a huge benefit to our heart health,” said Farr, owner of Nutrition Associates of San Antonio.

Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, have been used since the 1950s to prolong the shelf life of foods such as cookies, cakes, stick margarines, ready-to-use frosting, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza and refrigerated dough, the FDA says. Trans fat also occurs naturally in small amounts in some meats and dairy products.

Consumers have been shying away from trans fats since the FDA decided in 2003 that they must be listed on Nutrition Facts labels, a requirement that took effect in 2006.

“People start to really get nervous about products that have such a long shelf life. They start to wonder, 'Why don't I need to refrigerate this? Why does it still taste good when I forgot about it in my pantry for three years?'” said Letty Holmbo, a registered dietitian in San Antonio. “This is a good time to remind people to head to the perimeter of the grocery store and look for fruits, vegetables, fish and other foods that don't have complicated food labels.”

Food manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amount of trans fats in products by more than 73 percent since 2005, according to a statement from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry trade group for food and beverage companies.

“Consumers can be confident that their food is safe and we look forward to working with the FDA to better understand their concerns and how our industry can better serve consumers,” the association said in a statement.

The FDA's proposal is open for public comment for 60 days. Once partially hydrogenated oils are removed from the category of “generally recognized as safe,” food manufacturers would be required to obtain FDA approval to sell them by proving they were safe for consumption.

Gyorgy Scrinis, a professor of food politics at the University of Melbourne in Australia, said in an email that the ban on partially hydrogenated oils still would allow food companies to use other food processing techniques that chemically transform vegetable oils and fats.

“So there's the prospect of simply replacing one potential health hazard with another,” said Scrinis, the author of “Nutritionism: The Science and Politics of Dietary Advice.”

Farr said consumers should look for monounsaturated fats, found in olive oil and other foods, and omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, which are healthful.

“It's not that you can't have oils and fats in your diet, you just want to pick the better choices,” she said.